Surprise! Apple's being a dick again. It's crushed a really great, universal charging idea, which was gaining steam on Kickstarter because it won't allow the Lightning adapter to be used in a device with multiple charging options.

According to Apple's licencing requirements for the Lightning adapter—that yes, was a big step up from the ancient 30-pin dock connector—you can't even bundle the Lightning connector with something that can also charge via the old 30-pin. Now that's just goddamn ass-backwards. Why in hell would Apple block something that can charge all of its own devices? I mean, not everyone's upgraded to an iPhone 5 - hell, some people bought an iPad 3 thinking it would last at least a year before you made it obsolete, Apple.

"We are pissed. I think they are being a bunch of assholes, and I think they're hurting their customers."

I couldn't agree more. The only bright side to all this is that Edison Junior's doing the right thing and refunding all the kickstarter backers their contributions in full, which means the company's going to take a hit in both card fees and kickstarter's own fees.

I guess when you're beholden to a private company like Apple, who loves proprietary connectors, you're basically screwed if it decides it doesn't like you, and your idea. But come on Apple, don't be a dick. Make our lives easier, and don't block things like this. Otherwise we might be forced into buying the Chinese knockoffs instead. [Venture Beat]